Transportation apparatus.



PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905.

M. LINDBLAD.

TRANSPORTATION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 201905.

amvewboz WLZZZ &ZaZfl w 5 gffbffihw A5 /7 V4 NITED STATES Patented June 20, 1905.

MARTIN LTNDBLAD, ()F (.OHSWELL, NOR'III l)Al{(i)'lA.

TRANSPORTATION APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,997, dated June 20, 1905.

Application filed March 20, 1905. Serial No. 251,093.

1'0 N. 1171 0121 it 111,11. concern:

Be it known that], MARTIN Lmmamma subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, residing at (logswell, in the county of Sargent and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Transportation .-'\pparatus; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in transportation apparatus, and more particu larly to a sled or the like which is sel'f-pro-- polled by means of an apparatus which it carries and which engages and runs upon a cable or the like stretched over snow or ice and extending in the direction to he traveled by the sled.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient sled-railway for use in cold climates by means of which traflic or transportation will be greatly facilitated.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter de scribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the same, and Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes a sled comprising a frame 2, having runners 3, which are adapted to slide upon snow or ice. The sled may be of any desired form and construction and is adapted to be propelled in either direction by means of a mechanism 4, which is mounted upon the sled-frame 2 and which is adapted to engage and run upon a steel-wire cable or other flexible element 5, which is stretched looselyover the snow or ice between the points or places between which it is desired to have the sled travel.

The apparatus or mechanism at for gripping and drawing upon the cable 5 for the purpose l l I l l l i l i in this manner upon the swinging shafts 8 they may be moved toward and from each 1 other to tightly grip the cable 5, which passes between them, and in order to hold them in such engagement 1 provide the lower ends of the shafts 8 with spring-pressed bearings 14:. These hearings or bearing-blocks are slidabl y mounted in slots 15, formed in brackets. or supports 16, provided upon the frame 20f the sled, and they are forced inwardly toward each other by coil-springs 17, which are confined in the slots 15 in the brackets 16 between said bearings 1% and the outer ends of said slots. The wheels 6 and 7 have their lower ends tapered slightly, as shown at 18.

Any desired means may be provided for rotating the gripping-wheels 6 and 7 in either direction, so that the sled may be propelled in either direction along the cable 5. As shown, each of the shafts 12 has upon its upper end a gear 13, which may be driven by a suitable mechanism. The sled may be propelled by steam, electricity, or any other power, the motor (not shown) being mounted upon the frame 2. i

In order to guide the cable 5, which passes through suitable openings formed in the upwardly-curved ends of the sled between the gripping-wheels (5 and 7, I provide at the front and rear of the sled guide pulleys or wheels 25. The latter have grooved peripheries to receive the cable 5 and are journaled, as at 20, upon one side of vertical beams or uprights 27 in the frame 2, as shown. This construction permits the cable to be readily applied to or removed from said guide-pulleys.

The construction, operation, and advantages of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

.It will be seen when the grippingwheels 6 and 7 are rotated they will run upon the cable 5 and move the sled in either direction, according to the direction of rotation of said wheels.

While I have shown and described my invention as applied to a sled, it will be understood that the same may be used upon a Wheeled vehicle or a boat as well. It will be further understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An apparatus of the character described, the combination with a cable or the like, of a sled orother movable object, a pair of shafts, gripping-wheels upon said shafts adapted to receive said cable between them, a second pair of shafts, universal joints or connections between said shafts, sliding spring-pressed bearings for the lower ends of the first pair of shafts, and means for driving the second pair of shafts, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, the combination with a cable or the like, of a sled or other movable object, a transverse beam in said sled, vertical shafts upon said beam, swinging shafts having their upper ends connected by universal joints to said vertical shafts, gripping-wheels upon said swinging shafts, slotted guides, bearings for the lower ends of said swinging shafts slidably mounted in the slots in said guides, springs in said guides to force said wheels into engagement with said cable, means for driving said vertical shafts and supporting-pulleys to guide said cable to and from said wheel, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARTIN LINDBLAD. l/Vitnesses:

J NO. G. W'HITMORE, M. A. Ho'UeH. 

